Six months later at an Imperial prison on the rocky and hazy planet of Naraka, Sabine had undergone some changes with her armor. She had repainted and reforged it again from white, orange, red and yellow to white, a bit of red and with purple replacing most of her breastplate's orange color. Her helmet's pinkish-burgundy had been replaced with a reddish-orange and had also been reforged and repaired since it was damaged from Maul on Malachor. A convor had now adorned her armor's left pauldron and her gloves were now fingerless, only covering her hands' wrists and palms.

She was holding onto a pipe underneath a catwalk where stormtroopers and AT-DPs were. With her were Zeb, who no longer had shoulder pads on his armor with its chest plate being shorter and had an artwork of the joopa that swallowed him on Seelos on it, and Markus, who had grown a mustache over the last few months. They climbed forward, passing by a stormtrooper near the end of the catwalk.

Sabine then grabbed the stormtrooper that was standing above her on the catwalk with her left hand before he screamed as she dropped him. The stormtrooper fell to his death as a nearby stormtrooper aimed their E-11 blaster rifle at the location of where he heard his fellow stormtrooper yell from.

"Hey," the stormtrooper suddenly heard a masculine voice say and turned around and saw Ezra, who like Sabine now had fingerless gloves, only covering his hands' wrists and palms.

"What?" The stormtrooper said before he was punched in the helmet by Ezra with his right fist before he grabbed him with both of his arms and threw him off the catwalk, causing him to scream to his death as Sabine, Zeb and Markus climbed up the catwalk.

"Gotta hand it to you, kid. This was a pretty good plan," Zeb said as he approached Ezra, "You've been on a roll."

"Hey! I'm just getting started, buddy," Ezra told him, "Now, come on. Let's move."

With that said, Sabine, Zeb and Markus hid in a corner around a wall at the end of the catwalk, while Ezra held onto the edge of the catwalk after sliding as a spotlight looked down at the catwalk. As soon as the spotlight passed by, Ezra climbed back up, while his wife, Zeb and Markus got out of hiding.

"OK, Chopper. Jump," Ezra said as he activated his helmet's built-in comlink with his right hand's index finger before Chopper grunted a response as he stood above the Imperial prison, "No rocket. It's too loud. Now jump!"

Chopper then grunted angrily before he grunted a squeal as he jumped from above the Imperial prison as he pulled both of his metal arms out from his dome before the Mandalorian extended his right arm out towards him as he began to use the Force to levitate the astromech droid, causing him to grunt a gasp as he hovered above the spotlight as it moved below him before the spotlight moved the other away, causing Ezra to let go of the astromech droid as he lowered his right arm, causing Chopper to grunt a scream as he fell before Zeb caught him with his arms as the astromech droid was upside down.

"Chop, get this door open. Hurry," Ezra ordered the astromech droid before he grunted frustratedly as Zeb placed him on the floor and rolled past him as he placed his metal arms back inside his dome.

"You're welcome," Zeb muttered, sarcastically as Chopper approached an astromech port nearby and plugged his scomp link into it and rotated it around before the door in front of them slid open before they ran through the door.

Ezra, Zeb, Sabine, Markus and Chopper then hid behind a wall near the prison's entrance as two stormtroopers walked by as they walked down the corridor in front of them before the five of them ran across the corridor in front of them as they began to head towards the prison's cells.

"6609. This is it. Sabine, you're up," Ezra said as he and the others approached one of the cells in one of the prison's cell blocks.

"I can't believe we're here to break this guy out of prison," Sabine sighed as she stood in front of the cell's panel and clicked on it with her right hand's index before doing the same with her armor's control pad with her left hand's index finger as she looked at him.

"Trust me, we need the information he has," Ezra told her.

"Even though I feel the same way as you, Sabine, your husband does have a point," Markus stated as he crossed his arms.

"Yeah, you heard him," Zeb said as he crossed his arms, "Open the doors.

"Don't encourage him," Sabine told him, referring to the person that they were rescuing.

"He is in here because of us," Ezra reminded her.

"Keep telling yourself that, Ez'ika," Sabine said, teasingly as she scoffed at him before the prison cell's door slid open, revealing a male Ugnaught with pink skin, balding brown hair with his hair on both of his head with a goatee and brown eyes with a tattoo over his right arm, wearing a gray vest over a blue shirt and brown pants before he spoke in Ugnese.

"Who's the pig?" Zeb asked as he looked at the Ugnaught.

"Yeah, our intel never said that there was an Ugnaught in this cell," Markus said, agreeing with the Lasat.

"Purple guy, Mustache man, Mando girl, and Ezra Bridger," Ezra, Sabine and Zeb heard a familiar voice start to say as someone walked out of the shadows, revealing themselves to be Hondo Ohnaka, "My, look how you've grown." Zeb then grabbed his bo-rifle from his back and held it in both of his hands as Markus grabbed his DL-44 blaster pistol from its holster with his right hand as well before Hondo approached Ezra, "Ah, I knew you would not let your old partner, Hondo rot away in this prison."

Ezra then removed his helmet and placed it under his arm, revealing that he had cut his hair much shorter, neatly trimmed and practical for a warrior sometime within the last six months. The changes were subtle, yet it spoke volumes of the trials he had faced as the young adult that he had become.

"Hondo, it's good to see you," Ezra said, greeting the Weequay pirate.

"Not really," Zeb stated.

"Let's just hope this information is worth all the trouble we've gone through," Markus said as he looked at Hondo with the corner of his eye, "We're putting a lot on the line here."

"You better have the intel you promised," Sabine warned the Weequay pirate.

"Yes, we do," Hondo confirmed.

"I'm sorry. We?" Zeb asked him with confusion in his voice as he turned towards the Weequay.

"Yes," Hondo said as he sniffed before he turned towards the Ugnaught, "Me and my business associate, Terba." He then placed his left hand next to the right side of his mouth, "You wouldn't believe the secrets he knows." He then clicked his tongue as he finished his sentence.

"You're right. I wouldn't," Zeb muttered, agreeing with Hondo.

"Neither would I," Markus said, agreeing with the Lasat when Terba suddenly started to shout at Hondo in Ugnese before snorting as he crossed his arms before he continued to speak in Ugnese.

"What fun! Now we're rescuing two people," Sabine remarked, sarcastically.

"Hey, twice the fun," Ezra told her when two stormtroopers suddenly appeared in the corner behind him.

"Look out!" Sabine called out to her husband as she noticed the two stormtroopers.

"Over here!" One of the stormtroopers said as Ezra placed his helmet back over his head before he pulled out both of his WESTAR-35s from their holsters and fired them at one of the two stormtroopers, knocking them to the floor before another stormtrooper appeared behind the other stormtrooper from the corner as they began to fire their E-11 blaster rifles at them as both Mandalorians and Markus began firing upon the stormtroopers as Zeb, Hondo, Chopper and Terba left the area before both Mandalorians and Markus began to follow them down the corridor.

"Spectre-6 to Ghost," Ezra said, contacting Hera with his wrist communicator, "CHange of plans. We need a 44 scoop at the landing platform."

"On my way, Spectre-6," Hera replied from his wrist communicator as Ezra and Sabine fired their WESTAR-35s at the stormtroopers that were chasing them as they stopped in front of a doorway to a turbolift as they turned around before Markus fired his DL-44 blaster pistol back at the stormtroopers with Zeb doing the same.

Chopper then pulled out both of his metal arms back out and began to use the control panel above him with them. The doorway of the turbolift then slid open as he placed his metal arms back inside his dome. Hondo and Terba then ran inside the turbolift before Chopper, Zeb, Sabine and Ezra did the same with the doorway of the turbolift sliding back shut behind them.

"Hera. Make yourself useful," Sabine told Hondo as she handed him her left WESTAR-35 with her left hand.

"Oh! Mandalorian! I can get a lot for this on the black market," Hondo said as he took her blaster with his left hand and examined it.

"You will be giving it back," Sabine told him as she hit him in the chest and near his left armpit with her right WESTAR-35 as both Zeb and Terba growled at each other before the Lasat held his bo-rifle forward as Markus did the same with his blaster pistol before before Sabine, Ezra and Hondo did the same with the WESTAR-35s that they were wielding.

As the turbolift reached the floor below the one where they freed Hondo and Terba from one of the prison's cells, Sabine exited the turbolift first and fired her WESTAR-35 at a stormtrooper in front of the turbolift's doorway, knocking them to the floor before Ezra fired one of his WESTAR-35s at the stormtrooper next to the one that his wife fired at, while Hondo fired at a stormtrooper behind them, causing the stormtrooper to groan as he fell to the floor on his back.

"Oh! I'm keeping it!" Hondo stated as he turned back towards both Mandalorians.

"No, you're not," Sabine told him as Ezra began to walk forward.

"Come on! This way!" Ezra ordered everyone as he began running down the corridor with the others before a squad of stormtroopers appeared at the end of the corridor a she placed both of his WESTAR-35s back in their holsters before he grabbed a lightsaber with a cylinder-shaped hilt from his armor's belt that was distinctly Mandalorians and had incorporated parts from his previous lightsaber with his right hand.

The hilt was a split saber, designed to separate into two independent blades when needed. Notably, it had two emitters, one on either side of the other, allowing for a dual-blade configuration. This was a testament to his Mandalorian heritage and Jedi training as Sabine did the same with the WESTAR-35 that she was wielding and placed it back in her armor's right pauldron as she grabbed her lightsaber from her armor's belt with her right hand.

"Good idea, you two," Markus said as he grabbed his lightsaber from his pouch with his right hand.

Ezra, Sabine and Markus dodged the stormtroopers' blaster bolts as they rushed towards them before they leapt into the air. They then ignited their lightsabers with Ezra igniting one of his saber's blades as a green colored blade was emitted from one of its emitters before another green colored blade was emitted from its other emitter. This was a testament to his growth as both a Mandalorian and a Jedi as he had changed the color of his first kyber crystal from blue to green sometime within the last six months.

With a quick and practiced motion, Ezra twisted the hilt of his lightsaber, and it split into two separate blades as he entered a Jar'Kai battle stance for a second. He then slashed his lightsabers against one of the stormtroopers. Sabine then slashed hers against one of the stormtroopers' E-11 blaster rifles with Markus doing the same with another stormtroopers' E-11 blaster rifles.

The female Mandalorian then kicked one of the stormtroopers with her right boot. at the same time, Ezra extended his left arm out towards one of the stormtroopers behind him as he used the Force to push the stormtrooper across from the one that Sabine kicked towards a wall behind them.

The two Mandalorians and Markus ran forward with Chopper, Zeb, Hondo and Terba clase by as they used their sabers to deflect the stormtroopers' blaster bolts as they approached three stormtroopers and slashed their sabers against them.

"Is that really Ezra?" Hondo asked Sabine before looking at Markus, "And you're a Jedi as well?"

"Most of the time," Sabine answered.

"And I was a Padawan during the last year of the Clone War, so, yeah I am a Jedi," Markus confirmed with a smile on his face, "I'm also an old friend of Kanan's."

Terba then spoke in Ugnese as he ran with Hondo down the corridor as stormtrooper exited the doors in the prison as an alarm went off.

"No, you can't have a double share, you greedy little pig," Hondo told the Ugnaught as stormtroopers fired up them with their E-11 blaster rifles from behind them as the entrance's sealed doors of the prison slid open before Terba spoke in Ugnese again as he ran forward, "What do you mean the deal's off?"

"No! Terba, wait!" Ezra said as he, Sabine and Markus saw the Ugnaught running ahead of them.

"This is not good business!" Hondo stated as Terba ran through the prison's sealed doors and rose both of his arms up with a victory pose, only to be blasted by an AT-DP with its laser cannon as it saw him, killing the Ugnaught instantly as he was flown up into the air.

"No!" Ezra cried as Sabine gasped with shock in her voice.

"Well, I guess the deal is off," Hondo muttered as he left the prison with both Mandalorians and Markus.

"Get down!" Ezra ordered everyone as the AT-DP began to open fire upon them with its laser cannon as he quickly deactivated both of his split saber's blades and reconnected them into a single lightsaber and clipped it back onto his armor's belt as he took cover behind one of the crates outside the prison before he pulled one of his WESTAR-35s back out.

Everyone then did the same and took cover behind him. Sabine and Markus deactivated their lightsabers as well as Sabine also clipped hers onto her armor's belt, while Markus placed his back inside his pouch. The female Mandalorian then grabbed her WESTAR-35 from its holster as Markus did the same with his DL-44 blaster pistol.

"Karabast! We're cut off!" Zeb cursed as he fired his bo-rifle at the stormtroopers.

"We need to make a move, or we're not going to as I don't know of any Force ability that could help us in this situation!" Sabine said as she fired her WESTAR-35s at the stormtroopers that were running down the corridor to the prison's sealed door entrance.

"Neither do I," Markus muttered, agreeing with her as she took out one of her thermal detonators with her right hand and threw it into the corridor with it exploding upon impact as Chopper rolled towards the astromech port next to the prison's sealed door and plugged his scomp link into it as he rotated it around, causing the doors to slide back shut.

"Don't worry, Sabine. I got us into this, I'll get us out," Ezra assured his wife, who bent downwards on her left knee as she began firing her WESTAR-35 at the stormtroopers across from them with Markus doing the same thing with his blaster pistol.

The Mandalorian then extended his right hand out towards the AT-DP and he closed his eyes and slowly clenched his right hand into a fist and turned it around, causing the walker to turn around towards the stormtroopers as it aimed its laser cannon at them.

"What are you doing?" One of the stormtroopers asked the AT-DP's combat driver as he stopped firing his E-11 blaster rifle and looked at it as he saw the walker aiming its laser cannon at him before Ezra pulled his thumb down, causing the AT-DP to fire its laser cannon at the stormtrooper, killing him instantly as he screamed to his death.

"What is he doing?" One of the other stormtroopers asked as the AT-DP fired its laser cannon upon them as it chased them with Ezra stepping forward with everyone being shocked at what he was doing with the Force as Sabine removed her helmet, revealing that sometime within the last six months, she had changed her hair style to an asymmetrical style and had grown the right side of her hair significantly with the left side being cut short and had dyed her hair from a light shade of blue that was fading out to teal to a light pinkish violet to dark purple at the tips of her hair.

"Ah, Sabine, that's quite a mark you've got there," Hondo said as he noticed the scar on Sabine's right cheek, "Care to share the story?"

"It's not something I want to talk about, Hondo," Sabine told him as she recalled Maul giving her the scar when he betrayed them on Malachor.

"Are you crazy?" One of the last remaining stormtroopers said with disbelief in his voice as he and the other stormtroopers fired their E-11 blaster rifles at the AT-DP, "What's that driver doing?" One of the other stormtroopers then ran and jumped off the catwalk to their death, "We're not rebels! They're over there!"

The AT-DP then fired its laser cannon at the stormtroopers in front of the walker, causing them to scream and killing them instantly as they were flown off the catwalk. Ezra then continued to walk forward as he continued to use the Force on the walker's combat driver, causing the AT-DP to walk forward as well before it soon stepped over the catwalk's platform, causing it to fall over the catwalk and into the planet's hazy surface, killing the walker's combat driver as he fell to his death.

Ezra then lowered his right arm as the AT-DP fell off the catwalk as Sabine, who had placed her helmet back over her head as she and everyone else slowly began to approach him.

"When did Kanan teach you that, Ezra?" Sabine asked her husband with amazement in her voice, "He hasn't even taught me anything since he cut himself off from the Force and everyone else."

"He didn't," Ezra answered when they suddenly heard an explosion from behind them at the prison's sealed door as it was blown open before stormtroopers exited the prison through the blown open sealed door and began to fire their E-11 blaster rifles at them.

Everyone except for Ezra, Sabine and Markus began to fire back at the stormtroopers as Sabine placed her WESTAR-35 back in its holster and grabbed her lightsaber from her armor's belt with Markus doing the same with his DL-44 blaster pistol and grabbed his lightsaber from his pouch as they reignited them and began to use their sabers to deflect the stormtroopers blaster bolts back at them.

"Get ready to jump!" Ezra ordered as he began to run forward with Chopper.

"Jump?" Hondo repeated with confusion in his voice, "What does he mean jump? Jump where?"

"Means our ride is here," Zeb answered as Hera, who's flight suit was now one shade of tan instead of just one as she was piloting the Ghost as the VCX-100 light freighter came into view and began to fly towards the catwalk.

"Now!" Ezra ordered as the Ghost flew underneath the catwalk before he and everyone else jumped onto the hull of the VCX-100 light freighter as the stormtroopers fired their E-11 blaster rifles at the Ghost before the ship began to leave the planet's atmosphere.

"Was that Imperial walker helping you?" Hera asked Zeb, Markus and Ezra, who had his helmet removed as they entered the Ghost's cockpit as she turned around towards them in the ship's pilot seat.

"Yeah. Ezra used his Jedi mind trick on the pilot," Zeb confirmed as he sat down on the seat behind the ship's co-pilot seat as Ezra sat down on the seat behind Hera as he crossed his arms, "Pretty wizard, eh?"

"I did what I had to do," Ezra explained before the door to the cockpit slid back open as Hondo entered the room and removed his hat with Sabine, who had her helmet removed as well.

"Ah, Captain Syndulla," Hondo said, greeting the Twi'lek before placing his hat back over his head, "I appreciate the rescue. And, of course, I expect full payment even though Terba tried to betray us."

"Wait. Who's Terba?" Hera asked them with confusion in her voice as Hondo placed his right hand over his hip.

"Hondo's former cellmate who almost botched the mission," Sabine clarified as she placed her left hand over her hip, "He didn't make it."

"Ezra, did you know about this?" Hera asked Ezra as she placed her right hand over her hip.

"Not exactly," the Mandalorian answered, "But Hondo and I had a deal."

"Ezra, when it's your mission, you are responsible for all of the details," Hera scolded him as she lowered her right arm and pointed at him with her right hand's index finger for a second as Hondo crossed his arms.

"I was responsible for what I knew. We went to get Hondo, and here he is," Ezra told her as he stood back up and began to walk back towards the door as Hondo lowered his arms with Sabine now having her arms crossed as well before he sighed as he looked at Hondo, "I'm sorry about Terba." The door to the cockpit then slid back open again as the Mandalorian left the cockpit.

"Ah, the fiery spirit of youth, eh?" Hondo said as he sat down on that seat that Ezra was sitting on before he left the room.

"It's not all bad," Hera assured him before turning towards Markus, "And Markus, I want to thank you. You've stepped up in Kanan's absence these past few months, and it hasn't gone unnoticed. We appreciate your help."

"Don't mention it, Hera," Markus replied, "Remember, he's an old friend of mine, so it was only right for me to take his place on your missions till he feels the need to come back and help us fight the Empire again. And besides, my ancestors were historians and some of them may have fought in some of the wars that took place thousands of years ago."

"I knew the details of the mission. Terba got himself killed. It's not my fault," Ezra said, angrily as he entered his and Sabine's cabin as the door to their room slid open before it slid back shut behind him when he suddenly sensed the Sith holocron from his drawer before he opened the drawer and grabbed it with his right hand as it opened up, "They never would have succeeded without me. Don't they know that?"

"Your anger gives you strength, gives you focus," the voice of the Presence told him from the holocron, "You see things clearly. Your wife and friends cannot. Now what else do you desire?"

"They can't see. If they can't see, I must become stronger, more powerful," Ezra stated, "I will never let my wife and our friends get hurt again."

On an Imperial Star Destroyer that was surrounded by four Imperial Light Cruisers, Grand Moff Tarkin was sitting at a desk inside of an office within the Star Destroyer, speaking to an Imperial officer that was standing next to him when a human female with light skin, blue eyes and black hair in the style of a bob, wearing a gray colored tunic with the rank plaque of a Moff over her right chest entered the room as the door to the room slid open.

"Governor Pryce," Tarkin said, greeting the woman as the Imperial officer left the room, "How are things proceeding on Lothal?"

"Lothal is secure, Moff Tarkin," Pryce answered as she placed her arms behind her back and stopped at the opposite end of the table in the office, "But I am here about the recent rebel attack at the prison on Naraka, which I believe is only the beginning of a larger rebel threat."

"I am inclined to agree. Although Lord Vader has dealt with the insurgency's Jedi leadership, these rebels have proven particularly stubborn," Tarkin stated as he moved his hands upwards and near his face, "How do you intend to solve this problem?"

"I want the Seventh Fleet," Pryce answered.

"I see. And what of Admiral Konstantine and his fleet?" Tarkin asked her as he lowered his arms back onto the table.

"Huh. Admiral Konstantine is more politician than soldier," Pryce answered before leaning on the table as she placed her hands on the table, "I need someone who sees a bigger picture."

"Very well," Tarkin relented, "You shall have the Seventh Fleet."

"Thank you, Moff Tarkin," Pryce told him as she stood back up before she left Tarkin's office.

"So, so, so… how much do you insist on paying me for this intel?" Hondo asked as he sat on one of the edges of the holotable at Chopper Base on Atollon with Sato, Mira, Ephraim, Rex, Markus and all of the Ghost crew excluding Kanan standing around the holotable with Sato having his arms behind his back, while Sabine and Hera had their arms crossed.

"Being rescued from that Imperial prison wasn't payment enough?" Hera said with confusion in her voice, "What do you want?"

"Ah, what good is a pirate without a ship?" Hondo asked them as he got off from the holotable, "You know, the Ghost is a very nice ship. I could probably-"

"Forget it," Hera, Ezra, Sabine and Zeb all said at the same time as Hera placed her left fist over her hip, while Ezra placed his right hand over his hip.

"I'm kidding of course," Hondo said as he laughed, "But I do need a ship. Nothing too fancy. Just something with a roomy cargo hold, Hyperdrive, shields, weapons." Hera then crossed her arms again, "I am a wanted man, after all. Very popular."

"So, you've told us since you met Ezra when me and Ephraim were imprisoned by the Empire," Mira stated as she crossed her arms.

"And yet, Hondo, you're shipless," Ephraim chuckled as he shook his head, "Maybe it's time to consider a new line of work."

"Yeah, good one, Ephraim," Markus said, agreeing with the former Protector.

"If your information is as good as you claim, then we have a deal," Sato bargained.

"I give you the planet Yarma," Hondo said before pressing a button on the holotable with his left hand's index finger, causing multiple planets to appear from the holotable's holoprojector with one of them flashing red, "And hidden in its cloudy heavens, Reklam Station, a secret Imperial salvage yard where thousands of Republic starfighters are being dismantled for scrap." He then clicked another button on the holotable, causing a spherical-shaped facility to appear from the holotable before he clicked yet another button, causing a Y-wing to appear from the holotable, "My former friend, Terba, worked on the line there before he was arrested for trying to escape."

"Y-wings? Kinda hold. Can they fly?" Hera asked him.

"Those bombers may be old, but they were solid in combat operations," Rex answered.

"Yeah, they were," Markus said, agreeing with the clone, "They were used in a lot of campaigns during the Clone Wars, even used to help liberate your home world, Hera."

"If we could steal a squadron's worth…" Hera began to say as she moved her left hand near her chin.

"They would be key to building a strike fleet, one capable of our next objective, the destruction of the Empire's factory on Lothal," Sato said, finishing Hera's train of thought as he moved his arms away from his back.

"And one step closer to freeing Lothal and returning the planet and sector back to Mandalore Space," Mira added with a smile on her face.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go get 'em," Ezra said, pounding his left fist into the palm of his right hand.

"Not so fast. We need to scout it first," Hera said as she placed her left hand over the right pauldron of Ezra's armor, "Confirm Hondo's intel and recon its defenses."

"You still do not trust Hondo, given our history together?" Hondo said with disbelief in his voice as he placed his right hand over his face, "You would me to the quick, madame."

"Well, you once did hold Masters Kenobi, Skywalker and even Ahsoka hostage at one point during the Clone Wars for profit," Markus stated, remembering what he heard about the Weequay pirate when he was a youngling and Padawan during the Clone Wars.

"Ezra Bridger, I trusted you with the last mission and your success has not gone unnoticed," Sato told Ezra as he looked at him, "You will lead this mission as Lieutenant Commander."

"Lieutenant? A promotion?" Ezra said with disbelief in his voice.

"You earned it, kid," Rex chuckled.

"Great job, Ezra," Markus told the Mandalorian as he smiled.

"Way to go, Ez'ika," Sabine said as she walked towards her husband and gave him a quick kiss on his right cheek before she walked away from him.

"Well done, young Jedi," Zeb told Ezra as he walked away from him as well.

"Congratulations, Ezra. Kanan will be proud," Hera assured the Mandalorian.

"Yeah, he will be," Mira said, softly as she smiled at him.

"He'll definitely be proud of you, son," Ephraim muttered, agreeing with his wife as he placed his left hand over the right pauldron of Mira's armor.

"Yeah? Well, he has a funny way of showing it considering he's never around," Ezra stated before walking away from her and the holotable.

Kanan, who had grown a full beard, was sitting with his legs folded on the outskirts of Chopper Base. He had removed the armor that was over his right arm in favor of a simple shirt and now had armor over his shins. A new shoulder pauldron that was colored green now adorned his attire over his right shoulder, bearing white colored Jaig eyes painted by Sabine as a mark of honor as dokmas were crawling around him over his legs, left forearm and his right shoulder as he had his eyes closed before the dokma over his right shoulder climbed down his body.

"I see you," the Jedi Knight heard a deep masculine voice call out to him through the Force as krykna spiders walked outside the outskirts of the base as they hissed at him, "I see you. Come to me."

"Kanan, I was hoping to see you at the briefing," he suddenly heard Hera say from behind him.

"I hear Ezra's doing well," Kanan said as he reopened his eyes.

"He has been stepping up, but, uh… You know, he blames himself for what happened to Sabine and Ahsoka," Hera told him.

"Well, I don't," Kanan stated as he looked at her with the corner of his eye.

"I wish you would tell him that," Hera said before she walked away from the Jedi Knight.

Ezra was laying on the top of his bunk in his and Sabine's cabin on board the Ghost with the Sith holocron on his drawer when he suddenly heard the door slide open and saw Kanan standing in the doorway before the door slid back shut behind him.

"Kanan," Ezra said as he got down from the top bunk of his and Sabine's bed, "Uh, hey, what are you doing here?" He was then mesmerized by the Sith holocron as he looked at it with its top part being uneven, compared to the holocron's three corners before he subtly extended his left hand out as if to reach for the holocron to hide it from Kanan.

"I think it's time for us to talk," Kanan answered, his haze fixed on Ezra as he approached the front of the drawer that had the holocron, but his attention was so focused on Ezra that he didn't notice the artifact as he crossed his arms.

"Really? Uh, now is not a good time. I've been promoted and assigned a really important mission," Ezra told him as he subtly moved his left hand closer to the holocron.

"Yeah, I've heard," Kanan said, his gaze still focused on Ezra as as he leaned against the drawer, his right hand accidentally brushed up against something on the drawer before he grabbed it and as he looked at it, he widened his eyes in shock before he looked back at the Mandalorian, "The Sith holocron? You opened it?"

"Yeah, I opened it," Ezra confirmed, "So what?"

"Ezra, you know someone who uses the dark side can open this thing," Kanan reminded him.

"Well, the things I've learned from it have really helped me," Ezra told him.

"You're using it?" Kanan said with disbelief in his voice.

"Maybe you, Markus and Sabine should too," Ezra argued, "The three of you might actually learn something."

"Ezra, do you have any idea how dangerous this path is?" Kanan asked him, "Your and Sabine's distant ancestor, Revan, did the same thing, but he ultimately had his memory wiped by the Jedi council of the time."

"Everything I've learned has helped me win one battle after another," Ezra told him, "I'm using it for good."

"Acting out of anger offers quick results, but it's a trap!" Kanan stated.

"Not for me!" Ezra argued.

"I can't let you keep this," Kanan said as he sighed before he began to leave the room as the door to the room slid back open.

"Fine. I don't need it. Just like I don't need you," Ezra told him before the Jedi Knight left the doorway with the door sliding back shut behind him as he left Sabine and Ezra's cabin.

"We can't jump directly to Yarma from here," Sabine said as the Phantom flew into space after leaving Atollon with its wings unfolded as Ezra stood behind Sabine, who was piloting the VCX-series auxiliary starfighter shuttle, while Hondo sat on one of the seats in the back of the shuttle with Zeb, Mira and Ephraim sitting on the seats across from the Weequay as both Mandalorians had their helmets on their laps as Rex stood in the back of the shuttle and in front of the rear hatch, "We'll have to drop out of Hyperspace at the Seereda Waypoint and plot a new jump."

"Do not take too long. That is Mining Guild territory. If they spot us, they'll alert the Empire and jeopardize my payment," Hondo said before he chuckled for a second, "I mean our mission."

"We'll be there and gone before they know it," Sabine assured the Weequay pirate, "Right, Chop?" Chopper then grunted a response from the Phantom's astromech socket before the shuttle jumped into Hyperspace.

"I can help you," the deep masculine voice told Kanan as he called out to him again through the Force as the Jedi Knight was sitting on the outskirts of Chopper base with his eyes closed again and his legs folded.

"Where are you?" Kanan asked the voice as he stood back up, "Who are you?"

"Come to me," the voice told him through the Force before Kanan grabbed one of the sensor markers' poles as he walked between the spiders.

"OK, Chopper, you're up. Program those coordinates fast before…" Sabine began to say as the Phantom jumped out of Hyperspace as they entered the Seereda Waypoint.

"Attention, shuttle craft. You're trespassing in a Mining Guild claim zone. Identify yourselves. State your business," a masculine voice said from the VCX-series auxiliary starfighter shuttle's communications system.

"Uh-oh," Chopper grunted as two Mining Guild TIE fighters and a YV-865 Aurore-class freighter in the Mining Guild color scheme began to approach them from behind.

"State your purpose," the Mining Guild captain demanded from the Phantom's communications system.

"Please excuse the intrusion, Captain. We'll be on our way as soon as we calculate our Hyperspace jump," Ezra told the Mining Guild captain with the Phantom's communications system as he activated it with his right hand's index finger.

"We will not authorize any such jump until you've registered with the Empire and paid the Hyperspace toll," the Mining Guild captain stated from the shuttle's communications system, "Prepare to transfer credits." The Phantom then began to fly away from the Mining Guild ships, "If you do not slow your speed, we will open fire."

"Sabine, get us out of here," Ezra urged his wife as he saw one of the Mining Guild TIE fighters outside of the Phantom's viewport before two of the Mining Guild TIE fighters began to fire their laser cannons upon the shuttle, only for the Phantom to evade them.

One of the krykna hissed at Kanan as the Jedi Knight walked through the wilderness of Atollon. He then showed the spider the pole of the sensor marker that he was holding, causing the spider to back away from him as a convor watched the Jedi Knight from above, hooting. The convor then flew away as Kanan continued to wander around the area before he reached a steeping geological surface that somewhat resembled a ladder, but was in fact a hill.

"This is the place?" Kanan muttered to himself as he slowly walked down the hill and began to look around the area, "Hello? Are you there? I can sense your presence."

As he said that, he saw that one of the large coral plants slowly rise up from the ground, revealing that the coral plant was not a plant at all, but an animal that looked like an anthropomorphic moose with gray skin, auburn hair and pure white eyes.

"Hello," the massive creature said, greeting the Jedi Knight.

"Imperial prison is bad, but where the Mining Guild will send us is worse!" Hondo said as the Mining Guild TIE fighters continued to chase and fire upon the Phantom with its laser cannons as the VCX-series auxiliary starfighter shuttle evaded the TIE fighters.

"Hango on!" Sabine ordered everyone as she spun the Phantom around to its side as she evaded the lasers of the Mining Guild TIE fighters as Chopper used the Phantom's back cannon from the shuttle's astromech socket and destroyed one of the TIE fighters with it before Sabine pulled one of the shuttle's levers towards her, stopping the Phantom, "Brace yourselves."

The only remaining Mining Guild TIE fighter then flew ahead of the Phantom before Sabine fired the shuttle's frontal laser cannons at the Mining Guild TIE fighter, destroying it instantly as the lasers collided with the TIE fighter's pod.

"Chopper, we're clear. Charge the Hyperdrive," Sabine ordered the astromech droid.

"Wait. We should destroy the transport before they contact the Empire," Ezra protested.

"They probably already have," Sabine told him.

"No! We're not leaving any witnesses," Ezra argued.

"That's not our mission, Ezra," Sabine reminded him.

"She's right, Lieutenant," Rex said, agreeing with the female Mandalorian, "The important thing here is to proceed with our mission."

"Sabine and Rex are right," Mira stated as she nodded at the clone and her daughter-in-law, "We need to focus on the mission at hand."

"I agree with your mother," Ephraim told Ezra, agreeing with them, "We can't afford to get sidetracked."

"Fine," Ezra relented, "Make the jump."

"Hyperspace, here we come," Sabine said as the Phantom jumped back into Hyperspace.

"Ah. You heard my call. Good. Your imbalance woke me from a deep slumber," the massive creature told Kanan.

"Imbalance?" Kanan repeated with confusion in his voice.

"Your presence is like a violent storm in this quiet world," the massive creature explained.

"You're a Force-Wielder," Kanan realized as he stabbed the pole of the sensor marker into the ground next to him as he sat on the ground and folded his legs, "But you're not a Jedi."

"Wielder?" The massive creature repeated, "Hmm. Jedi and Sith wield the Ashla and Bogan, the light and the dark. I'm the one in the middle, the Bendu. What do you call yourself?"

"I am Kanan Jarrus, Jedi Knight," Kanan answered.

"You carry conflict within you, Kanan Jarrus, Jedi Knight," the Bendu told him.

"It's this," Kanan explained as he took the Sith holocron out from behind him with his right hand.

"Ah. Interesting," the Bendu chuckled as he rose his right arm towards the holocron and used the Force to pull it towards him.

"Careful. It's…" Kanan began to say as the Bendu opened the holocron with the Force before he sighed, "...dangerous."

"How so?" The Bendu inquired.

"It's a Sith holocron, a source of evil," Kanan answered, "One of my students has been using it, and I'm afraid it's changing him."

"An object cannot make you good or evil. The temptation of power, forbidden knowledge, even the desire to do good can lead some down that path," the Bendu stated, "But only you can change yourself."

"Not always," Kanan told him.

"A-ha! Your conflict becomes clear," the Bendu said as he clenched his right hand into a fist before he noticed the pole of the sensor marker, "That device in the ground, why do you have it?"

"It keeps the spiders from attacking me," Kanan answered.

"May I see it?" The Bendu requested before he grabbed the pole of the sensor marker with his left hand's thumb and index finger before he snapped it in half, destroying the pole of the sensor marker.

"Hey, hey! What did you do?" Kanan asked him as he widened his eyes as he watched the Bendu snap the pole of the sensor markers in half.

"I am helping you," the Bendu answered.

"It was the only thing protecting me from those creatures!" Kanan told him as he looked around the area.

"You believe that, but you must see things differently now," the Bendu told Kanan before Kanan saw that the spiders were emerging from their kidding spots above the steep hill behind them.

"Look, I can see, but that doesn't change the fact that they're dangerous," Kanan argued.

"No. You are unwilling," the Bendu stated.

"Are you saying there's a way for me to see things differently?" Kanan asked him.

"Your perspective cannot change by force, but I can guide you to see things in a new light," the Bendu told him, "If you're willing."

"What must I do?" Kanan asked him as he looked up at him.

"I'm certain Governor Pryce is overestimating how organized the resistance is," Konstantine told Tarkin as he stood with the Grand Moff alongside Kallus in front of a holotable inside the aft bridge of the same Star Destroyer that Pryce was on when she spoke to Tarkin when she requested to have the Seventh Fleet as he and Tarkin had their arms behind their backs before he moved his right arm away from his back as the ISB agent placed his left fist near his chin and crossed his right arm, "While it's true there are pockets of rebellion, there has never been any evidence of a larger scale, galaxy-wide operation."

"And I would like to keep it that way, Admiral Konstantine," they suddenly heard a deep masculine voice with a soft demeanor say as a blue skinned species with bluish-black hair, red eyes with red eyeliners and V-shaped ridges over his forehead known as a Chiss, wearing a white colored Imperial tunic, gold epaulets over his shoulders and a grand admiral's rank plaque over the right side of his chest walked out of the shadows with Pryce standing next to him.

"Grand Admiral Thrawn," Tarkin said, greeting the Chiss.

"Grand Admiral?" Konstantine said with shock, surprise and confusion in his voice.

"The Emperor recently promoted me after my victory at Batonn," Thrawn explained.

"Civilian casualties outnumbered the insurgents at the time," Kallus stated, knowing what happened at Batonn as he moved his left hand away from his chin and placed both of his arms behind his back.

"Acceptable margins, Agent Kallus for there are no longer rebels in that sector," Pryce chimed in as Konstantine crossed his arms.

"Well, Thrawn, what do you think of Governor Pryce's theory about the rebels in the Lothal sector?" Tarkin asked the Grand Admiral.

"This is a pirate our rebels rescued from Naraka prison, Hondo Ohnaka," Thrawn said as he pulled up a report of Hondo from the holotable's holoprojector with his right hand, which had a picture of the Weequay on the right side of the report, "Within the last hour, the Phoenix Squadron destroyed Mining Guild ships using the Sereeda Hyperspace Waypoint." A holographic image of a planet then appeared from the holotable's holoprojector, replacing the report of Hondo as Thrawn placed his right hand over his chin and his left hand over his right arm's elbow, "Taken separately, they may seem unrelated, but Ohnaka's cellmate was a laborer at our starfighter reclamation plant in the Yarma system, one jump point away from the Sereeda attack."

"Grand Admiral Thrawn believes the rebels intend to raid the plant and steal fighters for their fleet," Pryce added as Thrawn placed his left arm behind his back and lowered his right arm.

"Every ship they add to their arsenal increases the threat to our own armada and the Emperor's plans," Thrawn stated.

"I trust you have a solution?" Tarkin asked him.

"I will start my operations here and pull the rebels apart piece by piece," Thrawn answered, "They will be the architects of their own destruction."

Just as he said that, a human female with light skin, brown eyes and dark brown hair that was cut short, wearing a gray colored Imperial officer's tunic with the rank plaque of a commander over her right chest and an Imperial officer's cap over her head along with a stylized expression of a Chimaera painted over both sides of her tunic's shoulders, indicating that she was a member of the Seventh Fleet, walked towards the holotable from behind as she entered the ship's aft bridge.

"My second-in-command, Commander Faro has been working closely with me on this operation," Thrawn said, introducing the Imperial officer to the others.

"We have been gathering intelligence on the rebels' movements and have identified several key targets for our operations," Faro stated as she nodded at them in greeting and placed her arms behind her back, "With your permission, Grand Moff Tarkin, we will begin our operations immediately."

"Captain Pellaeon has also been instrumental in our efforts," Thrawn added, "He has provided valuable intelligence on the rebels movements and tactics."

"Very well. Proceed with your plan, Grand Admiral Thrawn and Commander Faro," Tarkin told them, "I expect regular updates on your progress."

As they began to discuss their next steps, Kallus couldn't help but think about the recent news from the Empire's ranks. Eli Vanto, a name he heard in passing, had left in secret at Thrawn's request to serve as the Empire's attaché to the Chiss Ascendency, a mysterious and powerful faction from the Unknown Regions where every Chiss, Thrawn included originated from. Even though their paths had never crossed, Kallus found himself wondering about Vanto's fate in the Unknown Regions.

"No Imperial traffic on the scopes, but no sign of the station either," Sabine said as the Phantom exited Hyperspace near a planet that was shrouded with yellow clouds as Ezra had his arms crossed as he was still standing next to her.

"It is down there, my friends," Hondo assured them as Zeb, Mira, EPhraim and Rex stared at him, while Ezra did the same for a second before he looked back at the shuttle's viewport, "And those ships are ripe for plunder."

"There's not telling what we're flying into," Sabine warned him as she turned towards her husband.

"Let's find out. Take us down," Ezra ordered as he lowered his arms and placed his left hand over the shuttle's pilot seat before Sabine began piloting the VCX-series auxiliary starfighter shuttle into the atmosphere of Yarma.

"There it is. Reklam Station," Sabine said as she saw a spherical-shaped facility in the distance.

"Chopper, get a count on those bombers," Ezra requested the astromech droid, who grunted a response from he projected a holographic image of Reklam station with the Y-wings from the shuttle's holoprojector, "There! Y-wing light bombers. Looks like they're in decent shape, too."

"Yeah, but according to Chopper's scan, there's only 15 left," Sabine said as Ezra crossed his arm before she saw one of the Y-wings get pulled into the station on the holographic projection, "Correction. There are only 14 left. Looks like they're being destroyed."

"We need to move in now," Ezra stated as he lowered his arms, "There won't be any ships left if we wait."

"Hold on. Our orders are to recon the station, not go after ships," Zeb protested.

"Ezra, Zeb's right," Mira said, agreeing with the Lasat, "We were sent here to gather information, not to engage. We need to stick to the plan."

"I understand your concern, Ezra," Ephraim told him, "But rushing in without a proper plan could put us all in danger. We need to be careful."

"We should advise Captain Syndulla," Rex suggested as he walked towards Ezra.

"What if the Empire detects our transmission?" Ezra asked the clone as he turned around towards him, "I was given command of this assignment. I know what the objective was, and I am changing it." He then walked up to him, "We're going in now. That's an order."

"Yes, Cyar'ika," Sabine told him as Ezra turned back around and walked back towards her as he bent down a bit and placed his left hand over the shuttle's pilot seat again as Sabine began flying the Phantom towards Reklam Station.